Since 2010, the Mary S. Byrd Gallery of Art on the first floor of Washington Hall on the Summerville Campus of Augusta University has promoted relevant works of art by emerging and contemporary artists.

Independent graphic designer and illustrator Jason Craig will hold an opening reception and artist talk for his solo show entitled, “Over the Line,” from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, at the Mary S. Byrd Gallery of Art. The exhibition of his show will run from April 4 through July 20.

Craig, who has worked with clients including Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta Braves, HBO and Nike, recently designed the branding work behind the award-winning “Vintage Augustus” for AU.

When Scott Thorp, chair of the Department of Art and Design, approached him about a solo show at the Mary S. Byrd Gallery of Art, Craig said he was excited, but acknowledged he had a bit of anxiety.

“But I’ve got a motto that you just do things that are scary and don’t just say ‘No’ to something because it makes you nervous,” Craig said, laughing. “My motto is, ‘Go ahead and do it. Say yes and make it cool.’”

“I got this just by being myself”

Craig, who previously worked as a senior graphic designer for more than 20 years with local organizations such as Westobou Festival, Weir/Stewart and the Metro Spirit, recently revisited the space at the Mary S. Byrd Gallery in Washington Hall and said he felt comfortable providing students, faculty and staff a solo show they would enjoy.

“It was funny because I was like, ‘I don’t know what Scott Thorp expects from me. I’m not a painter,’” Craig said. “After all these years, I still don’t know exactly how people see me as an artist.”

But Craig, who has hosted a number of local art events in the past such as the Augusta Poster Show and Artzilla during the Arts in the Heart of Augusta festival, said Thorp wanted him to bring that same energy to the Mary S. Byrd Gallery.

“I told Scott, ‘You saw me spray-painting a pig at the Augusta Common during Arts in the Heart. You’ve seen me at the Poster Show and all these things that I’ve done. What do you want from me here?’” Craig said. “And he was like, ‘I want that. I want that thing that you do where you do these events that are cool, and people show up and it’s well done.’ That was very cool because I went from the thought of, ‘How do people see me?’ to thinking, ‘Well, this is a very well-respected person who is seeing me exactly how I want to be seen.’ So, it’s one of those things where it’s like, I got this just by being myself.”

Therefore, Craig said his character and his style of art will be on full display for his show, “Over the Line.”

“There’s nothing in the show that is out of character for me,” Craig said. “But I’ve challenged myself with some of the things that I’m doing, and it’s been difficult, because I’m making a lot of pieces that require a lot of process. But it’s fun. It’s going to be a really interesting show that I don’t think they’ve had exactly like this before.”